The Maine Black Bears allowed 19 first quarter points to UMass-Lowell on Thursday night, but then only allowed 24 over the final 30 minutes sparked by a 23 point, 15 rebound effort from Adrianna Smith to beat the Riverhawks 55-43 in the America East women’s basketball opener 55-43 at Costello Athletic Center in Lowell, Massachusetts.
UMass-Lowell led by as many as five in the first quarter where both teams had a lead, and had a 19-18 advantage after the opening 10 minutes. The Riverhawks (0-13, 0-1 America East) got off to a solid start hitting 8-15 from the floor and 2-2 from the three-point stripe. Things changed after that though, as they struggled shooting over the final three quarters going 10-38 (26%) and missed all eight of their three-point attempts. Meanwhile, Smith would take over for Maine as she would record a double double in the first half. A layup by Sarah Talon 2:40 into the second gave the Black Bears the lead for good 21-19. They would end the period on a 12-3 run to extend a three point lead to 12 at 39-27 at the halftime break. The guests would continue to pull away and would take their largest lead of 20 on a layup by Anne Simon in the fourth quarter to break a two game losing streak, but more importantly take the America East opener with a showdown with Vermont looming on Saturday.
Smith overall went 9-19 from the floor, 5-8 from the free throw line, also adding three assists and a blocked shot to her big night in the win for Maine. Simon was the only other double digit scorer with 12 points and seven rebounds. The Black Bears also didn’t shoot well, finishing at 35% and only 2-14 (14%) from three-point territory. Gabby Ross and Abbey Lindsey had 10 points a piece in the loss for UMass-Lowell. Maine (8-7, 1-0 AE) is set to face the defending champion Vermont Catamounts in the Pit at Memorial Gymnasium in Orono on Saturday afternoon with a scheduled tip time of 1 p.m.
Recap by Chris Lessner
The Maine Black Bears women’s basketball team looks to run their offense during a non-conference loss to James Madison University earlier this season in Orono. Maine got a double double from Adrianna Smith to win their America East opener on Thursday by defeating UMass-Lowell 55-43. Photo by Chris Lessner
